A local business that has become a Fayette County landmark is celebrating this week as it marks 50 years of service to the community.
Smith & Davis Clothing has scheduled an official celebration event Saturday, July 11, at its Fayetteville location, 1552 Hwy. 54. There will be games, prizes, food and other activities. A raffle is being conducted to benefit the Joseph Sams School.
There wasn’t much on that stretch of Hwy. 54 between Fayetteville and Peachtree City in 1965 when Ronald Davis and Fred Smith opened their business. That location is now under the westbound lanes of the highway, according to Tony Davis, a self-proclaimed “rookie” who has been working for 32 years at the business his father started and identified his title as “chief cook and bottle washer.”
The company is now in its third building but has always been within a stone’s throw of its present location. Although the name has not changed, Fred Smith sold his interest in the business in 1974.
The first move was across the road in 1979, which was about the same time Smith & Davis began focusing solely on selling clothes and shoes. During the early years they offered groceries and gasoline as well, and for a time they also sold fabric out of a building known as the Cloth Barn.
The existing store was built in 1988, which still makes it one of the oldest shops around amid all of the growth in Fayette County the past 30 years.
Tony Davis said that he and his team continue to adapt to that changing landscape, and the store has evolved now to where it no longer sells suits and ties but concentrates on a casual and outdoor lifestyle wardrobe with nearly all of the name brands one might think of in that area.
In his time on the job he has seen the loyalty of the customer base demonstrated in a multi-generational way. Many of the young people who bought their athletic shoes and school apparel at Smith & Davis decades ago are now bringing in their children for exactly the same thing.
“I can’t tell you how many people have told me that we put their first pair of shoes on their feet and now we’re doing the same thing for their kids,” said Davis. “Some of them moved away after college but came back when they started their families because they know this is a great area for families to live in, and they come back to us.”
Smith & Davis continues to adapt to that clientele in other ways. The past 20 years in Fayette County has seen a major rise in major retail outlets and big-box stores, and more recently online buying has become the method du jour for many customers who want their merchandise purchased with the click of a mouse and delivered to their door.
There is no way to count how many family businesses have opened their doors in Fayette since 1965 only to close them sometime later as these changes took place and made them unable to compete in the marketplace. So how has Smith & Davis manage to survive and even thrive?
“The real answer is service,” Davis said without hesitation. “You can order shoes online but you can’t try them on that way. You can buy clothes a lot of places but if you don’t know what to get, you need help.”
He noted specifically how Fayette County has developed into one of the highest concentrations of runners in the nation, and that is a group that requires a very specialized product.
“If you buy an expensive running shoe and it doesn’t fit you correctly, you still don’t have what you need,” he said. “We are hands-on and try to make sure you get the right product. We just take care of our customers and listen to them so we can stay in touch with what they’re looking for.”
With that attitude, there is no reason to think another celebration will be taking place 50 years from right now.
Pictured above: The Davis family reminisces on 50 years of business in Fayette as they prepare for an anniversary celebration this weekend. Pictured are brothers George (L) and Tony (R) with their father and founder of Smith and Davis, Ronald Davis. Photo/Joyce Beverly.
